Chief Mike Ejiofor is a former Director of the Department of state Security (DSS), who was kidnapped four days ago between Okene and Obajana in Kogi state by persons he described as Fulani gunmen.
Speaking about his kidnap on Wednesday, he said that the gunmen threatened to waste his life when his brother told them he could only raise N1million to pay them for his release.
According to Vanguard, Ejiofor who was returning to Abuja from Delta state after a visit last Friday, disclosed that the Fulani kidnappers had demanded the sum of N30million as ransom before they will release him but he told them the challenges in the country made that type of amount hard to get.
Ejiofor said his younger brother told them he could only raise N1million, something that infuriated them and they threatened to kill him before he pleaded for time to make more contacts.
Speaking on Channels Television, the popular public affairs analyst gave details of how he was kidnapped and what followed this way, “I was driving back to Abuja from Delta State on Friday.”
Between Okene and Obajana bus stop, some Fulani gunmen jumped out of the bush and accosted us with sporadic gunfire. I asked my driver to stop the car. At that point, 4 of the Fulani gunmen, came over, pointed guns on our windows and asked us to come out.
“I want to say categorically that these people are not Fulani herdsmen but Fulani gunmen because they had nothing to do with cattle’s. There were no cattle’s around them. They just came out of the bush at about 2pm in the afternoon to perpetuate the act.
“They took us into the bush. We trekked for about one hour into a vast forest before they said we should stop under a tree which turned out to be our abode for 4 days. When we got there, I asked them if I could communicate to people since they said it is money they wanted. They told me until 10pm.
“They collected all my belongings, my laptop bag, my IPAD, my wristwatch, my rosary and phones. They searched the ID card and saw that I was a retired DSS director and told me ‘so you are the people along with the Police who have been killing Boko Haram. I replied that that I was retired because I had to save my life.”
Commenting on how the Fulani gunmen could fanthom that he was DSS personnel if they cannot read, Ejiofor said, 4 of the herdsmen were moderately educated as they could operate the laptop and IPAD.
Asked if during the time the gunmen were shooting sporadically, the police or other security agencies could not have come to their aid, Ejiofor said, “The type of weapons the gunmen were carrying are so sophisticated that the police cannot fight them in the bush. The marksmanship of these people shows they are proficient.”
“In fact, I was told that a bus that was behind us who refused to stop, they shot the driver on the head who died and when the vehicle skidded and tumbled, 2 of the passengers died while the bus caught fire.”
On if the herdsmen got information about his movement, Ejiofor said, “I got information that they trailed my vehicle after we passed a Police Checkpoint. They go after Jeeps. There was a function by the Governor of Kogi State on that day. They thought my car; a Prado Jeep was part of those that attended the governor’s function in Okene.
On how he survived for the four days in captivity, Ejiofor said “They (Fulani Gunmen) were drinking the water from the pounds in the bush and they asked me if I will not drink, I said I will not drink. What saved me was that there was Cashew Trees all over the forest and I had to eat Cashew for the 4 days to survive.”
Though Mr. Ejiofor did not disclose if ransom was paid and how much, he however thanked his friends who came to his aid before he was released.
On the way out of this menace, the former Director said ‘There is need to declare a security emergency in the country. We have crisis in our hands.
Things are not working well. We must declare emergency in the security sub sector. The greatest of all the challenges we have now is the Fulani gunmen.”
